Council to address sales tax, farm animals Tuesday

Sales tax and animals are among the items set to come before the Grove City Council this week.

The Grove Council will meet at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 5, in room 5 of the Grove Community Center.

In a pre-meeting memo, Grove City Manager Bill Keefer asks the council to look at the 1 percent sales tax - set to expire on June 30, 2021 - of which .4 percent or four-tenths of the percentage is dedicated to fund debt service obligations which finance capital expenditures for the city.

The term for the current sales tax was for 20 years. Keefer said the average revenue in the past three fiscal years generated by the .4 percent tax was approximately $752,000.

Keefer said while the tax does not expire for three and half years, there has been a discussion about the need to host a special election “sooner than later” in order to ensure the funding remains constant for city officials.

The previous sales tax ordinance was approved on Dec. 5, 2000, and signed by then-Mayor Charles Rowe. The election took place on Feb. 13, 2001.

Animals within the city limits

In regards to the animal ordinance, the council will consider amending an issue which does not address the number of agricultural animals that may be allowed on a property within an A-1 Agricultural District.

According to Debbie Bottoroff, assistant city manager, the current code is written in a manner that may be interpreted differently than the intentions of the city.

Bottoroff said the proposed ordinance before the council addresses both issues and is “more precise and easier to understand.”

If passed, by emergency clause, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. The following animals would then be prohibited from being located within the city limits: any type of swine (not limited to and including pigs and hogs), any type of fowl (not limited but including chickens, turkeys geese, ducks or guiena), any type of sheep or goat, any type of rabbit.

It would also prohibit commercial feeding or feeding of garbage to any agricultural animals, stockyard or feed lots for any type of agricultural animal, operations of puppy mills or similar facilities, or any agricultural animals deemed to be a public nuisance.

It would limit how animals are kept, with the enclosure, at its nearest point, not closer than 50 feet to any building occupied by human habitation and the barn shall not be closer than 75 feet from any building used or occupied by human habitation.

It will also limit the type of animals allowed within the city limits to cattle and equine allowing only one cow/calf pair per acre and only one horse/donkey/mule per acre.

Other business

The council will also consider allowing Bottoroff to apply for, and execute miscellaneous documents for reimbursement through the Oklahoma Quality Incentive Act including the 2018 Big Bash Bash set for June 9 to 10, 2018.

Council members will also address ordinance changes regarding the city’s municipal court fines, assessments and costs.

According to Darren Cook, city attorney, the new ordinance is designed to list the fees and assessments in a way, so they can be updated when state officials make changes, rather than needing to be changed each time by a vote.

The council will also consider appointing Art Kopp to the planning and zoning commission, to fill an unexpired term on the commission through Oct. 31, 2018. Koop is the only person who submitted an application for the commission.

The council will also consider approving memorandums of understanding between the Zena Rural Fire Department and Seneca-Cayuga Fire Department and the City of Grove Police Department for dispatching services.

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